Six-bed burns unit in Dhubri

The demand for opening a burns unit was strongly raised by various organisations when nearly 14 people from lower Assam districts, including Dhubri died and 56 were injured in the kerosene stove and lamp blasts in 2011.

The burns unit at Dhubri, one of the three units in Assam sanctioned by the Centre in 2009, have come up separately on the premises of the Dhubri civil hospital.

The other two are at Guwahati and Nagaon, built at a cost of Rs 1 crore.

The unit was made functional today by shifting a patient to the new unit, which started functioning with its full strength of para-medical staff and doctors.

The Dhubri joint-director of health services, K.K. Choudhury, said the burns unit has two doctors trained in burn injury cases.

“Apart from doctors, three dressers, two physiotherapists, eight nurses, six ward boys, four cleaners and a separate ambulance with two drivers are attached to the unit,” Choudhury said.

A special baby care unit and an ultra modern laboratory were also recently opened in the hospital.

The new baby care unit will have soothing music playing besides being equipped with essential pathological tests and micro-biological examinations, Choudhury said, adding that a CT-scan machine which was lying defunct for many years has also been made functional.

He said the Chapor first referral unit and a psychiatric unit in Dhubri civil hospital would be opened shortly. He also said Rs 10.57 lakh was sanctioned to the public health engineering department by the Dhubri district National Rural Health Mission to set up pump sets for water supply in the hospital.

A source said the hospital administration has been revamped and the shortage of essential medicines, saline and injections looked into.